As Fate Would Have It
by August08
Summary: Their lives changed forever when they went to the surface. Aliens and an evil ninja clan ruled the city with humans as slaves. They were all the city had in the way of hope. However, aliens and ninjas weren't the only things the Turtles had to face. Something was hunting their mother and brother. And it would stop at nothing until they were both dead. *Request from retro mania*.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N** : This is a request story from retro mania. After some thought and watching Turtles in Time and My Heart Will Go On from Supernatural, I finally managed to nail down the plot. I've discovered just how hard it is to concentrate on writing when I'm sick. Sorry for the delay retro mania. But, better late than never, right?

 **Disclaimer** : I own nothing.

* * *

Darkness pressed in all around. Ears strained to hear anything in the silence. There was a creak of a branch and the rustle of leaves. A darker shadow crawled down from the large tree in the middle of the room. It crept upon its target on all fours, tail swaying back and forth; nose and ears twitching. There was a slight scent of steel in the air. The target had a weapon drawn. No matter; he was going down, either way.

It was just the two of them. The others had been dealt with earlier. The shadow straightened to two legs, slinking closer to the target; arm stretched out to the side. There was no warning as the blade shot out of a wrist guard. The shadow raised his arm over his head. The target moved. The blade came down; the dojo rang with the sound of clashing metal. The shadow and target pulled away from each other.

A voice whispered somewhere in the dark. The smell of steel was close as a blade sung through the air. The shadow dodged to the side as the blade swept by. A hiss as the weapon shaved off a bit of hair. The shadow released a second blade and got in close. He swung the blades, but the target managed to block the strike with a second weapon. Metal groaned; the shadow and target grunting against the effort of pushing against each other.

"Yame!" came a sharp command.

The shadow and target pulled away as the lights shot on. A turtle in a blue mask faced off against an orange and white tabby cat. The cat was slightly shorter than the turtle, but his ears made him seem taller.

"Oh, snap. Tie," someone called from the sidelines.

"Thank you for the commentary, Mikey," the cat said.

The blue masked turtle sheathed his swords and held out his hand, smiling. "Good match," he said.

The cat shook his hand. "I'll beat you, yet, Leo."

Leonardo grinned. "You haven't beaten me, yet, Klunk."

They turned when someone started clapping. A black mutant cat with dark blue highlights through her fur stood off to the side with three other turtles.

"Well done. Both of you," she praised.

Leonardo and Klunk gave her a bow. "Thank you, Mistress Shard," they said in unison.

"So the almighty Leonardo remains undefeated," Raphael commented with a huff. "I thought for sure with Klunk's night vision he would be able to dethrone the king."

"You're just jealous because I beat you in the first round," Leonardo taunted.

Shard placed a hand on Raphael's shoulder before he could get to his feet. "Enough, you two," she said.

"Yes, that is quite enough for one night," the boy's sensei and father, Splinter agreed. "You boys are dismissed. Enjoy the rest of your evening."

The boys cheered with a hearty "Booyakasha" from Michelangelo. They hurried out of the dojo and disappeared out into the lair. Splinter and Shard smiled at their son's antics.

"They are growing up so fast," Shard commented.

"Indeed," Splinter agreed.

Shard's ears drooped and she sighed sadly. "Miwa would have been around their age, now," she said. "If she hadn't been..."

Splinter walked over and wrapped his arms around her. "Do not cry, Shen," he whispered. "We will find our daughter. She is still out there, somewhere."

Shard wiped a tear from her eye. "Yes. And we have five wonderful sons," she said. "I could not imagine my life without them."

Splinter drew Shard closer to him. She rubbed her face against his, purring lovingly. However, they broke away when they heard a commotion coming from the main area of the lair. Splinter sighed in frustration when Raphael's voice rose louder than the other's. There was a crash and a cat's shriek.

"Dude, that was my tail!" Klunk cried.

"Give me the controller, Mikey!" Raphael yelled.

"No way, man. You've been hogging the console all day," Michelangelo said. "Let someone else play."

Shard and Splinter looked at each other. She offered him a smile and he smiled back. Boys would be boys.

* * *

Golden eyes stared up through a storm grate at the sky far above. Klunk's ears twitched when he heard the sounds of a skateboard rolling down the sewer tunnel. He turned to see Michelangelo approaching.

"Hey, bro," the orange masked turtle greeted. "Thought I'd find you out here."

"Had to get away for a while," Klunk replied.

Michelangelo rolled to a stop, flipped up the skateboard and took a seat next to his feline brother. "Sorry about earlier. I didn't mean for Raph to step on your tail," he apologized.

Klunk shrugged. "It happens. But, that's not what I meant."

"What did you mean?" Michelangelo asked.

Klunk looked up at the starry sky. "It's not everyday we get to see the stars," he said. "And, the lair tends to get a bit stuffy."

Michelangelo nodded in agreement. "I hear that," he replied. "And, I highly doubt that Splinter and Shard are going to let us go topside. With the surface being too dangerous and all that."

Klunk tilted his head to one side. "Have you ever wondered _why_ it's too dangerous?" he asked.

Michelangelo frowned slightly. "Something about an invasion, I think," he answered uncertainly.

Klunk hummed in thought. "One day I'm going to go topside and see for myself. We can't live our whole lives down here."

"Well, when you do, count me in," Michelangelo told him. "There's got to be some kind of world above the sewers."

"And, when we find it," Klunk said. "It's going to be Earth shattering."

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Reviews are welcome, flames are not


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N** : A reviewer asked me where Klunk fits in the age order of siblings. To clarify, the order is: Leo, Raph, Don, Mikey, Klunk. I always pictured Klunk (if he were ever mutated) to be the youngest.

 **Disclaimer** : see chapter one

* * *

Golden stared into green as turtle and cat faced off. Klunk grinned evilly as Raphael growled. Michelangelo and Donatello looked between their brothers; Donatello with a worried look, Michelangelo with a wide grin. Leonardo came out of his room, face hidden in a comic book. He lowered the comic just in time to see the stand off. Frowning in confusion, Leonardo went over to his brainy brother.

"What's going on?" he whispered.

Donatello pointed to the spot between Raphael and Klunk. The TV remote sat innocently in the middle of the brothers. Leonardo looked from the remote to the TV, which was playing a cartoon rerun.

"They've just been standing there," Donatello said quietly.

"Because Raph knows that if he moves, Klunk can swipe the remote in a second," Michelangelo replied, his voice also hushed.

Leonardo sighed in exasperation. "Oh, for the love of...this is stupid," he declared. "If you can't decide on what to watch, give the remote to someone else."

As he spoke, Leonardo walked up and went to reach for the remote. All he saw was a flash of orange and white, while getting a mouth full of cat hair as Klunk's tail smacked him in the face. Raphael growled again and ran after the feline. Klunk laughed and ran off. Donatello and Michelangelo tried to dodge their siblings, taking refuge behind the couch. Donatello grunted when Klunk used his shoulders to vault himself up on to the spiral ramp that hung over the Pit. Raphael stalked up, murder blazing in his green eyes.

"Here, kitty kitty," he seethed.

Klunk's ears fell back against his head and he hissed, barring his razor sharp teeth. Raphael grabbed a pillow and threw it at Klunk, however, the cat was able to scurry up the ramp and miss getting hit.

"Anyone ever tell you that you have terrible aim?" Klunk asked.

"I'll give you 'terrible aim'," Raphael snarled. He ran and sprang into the air, grabbing a hold of the edge of the ramp and pulling himself up. "Come here, you!" he yelled, pulling out his sais.

Klunk threw the remote away, vaguely noticing Michelangelo catching it. He raised his arms in a defensive position and blades shot out of his wrist guards.

"Guys, stop!" Leonardo shouted.

However, his plea fell on deaf ears. The lair rang with the clashing of metal. Klunk and Raphael pushed against each other, grunting from the effort. They pushed away, but Raphael charged shortly afterwards. He swung one of his sais at Klunk's head, which was parried by the cat with his own weapon. Klunk spun around, kicking at Raphael's chest. His foot connected and Raphael stumbled back.

"All of this for a _remote_?" Leonardo asked is disbelief.

"I think they've finally lost it," Donatello commented, watching the fight from a safe distance away.

Raphael charged again and brought his sais down. Klunk quickly countered, locking his own blades with Raphael's. The red masked turtle swung his weapons in an arch and kicked out. Klunk lost his balance and fell back. Raphael threw his weapons away and pinned Klunk down. The cat hissed and fought against his brother.

"You shouldn't do that, dude," Michelangelo called up.

Klunk's eyes went into golden slits and he swiped at Raphael's face. Everyone gasped and tensed when Raphael cried out, his hands grabbing his bleeding throat. Klunk shot up, eyes wide with horror.

"Raph!" he cried.

In a flurry of movement, Donatello and Leonardo had Raphael down on the floor and Donatello immediately began medical treatment. Leonardo hurried off to the lab to grab the first aid kit. Klunk landed on the floor, but didn't move to help. Just then, Splinter and Shard appeared from the dojo.

"What happened here?" Splinter asked.

Shard sniffed the air. "Yoshi, I smell blood," she said.

Splinter assessed the scene. Leonardo was returning with the first aid kit and Donatello was hunched over Raphael, his body blocking Splinter's view from his red masked son. The ninja master moved to see what was going on. His eyes widened when he saw the blood. He looked around at his sons.

"What happened?" he demanded. His eyes fell on Klunk who was holding his hand to his chest. "Cliff?"

Klunk flinched. Shard went over to her son and knelt down, stroking his head.

"Cliff, honey, what happened?" she asked gently.

Klunk slowly revealed his bloody hand; his claws coated in red. "I didn't mean to...honest," he said in a small voice. "He had me pinned...I panicked and..." He looked up at Splinter, his eyes shining with tears. "I didn't mean to hurt Raph, sensei. I truly didn't."

Splinter looked to Donatello. "How bad is it?" he asked.

"The gash isn't too deep," the scientist replied. "A few stitches and Raph should be back to good health in no time."

Klunk sniffled and tears began to fall. He took off for the turnstiles before anyone could stop him and disappeared into the sewers. He heard his family calling his name, but he kept running. How could he have been so stupid? How could he have hurt his brother like that? He was a monster; there was no other explanation. Klunk continued to run until he couldn't go any further. He collapsed and broke down into tears.

When there were no more tears left to shed, Klunk wiped his eyes and took a shaky breath. He looked down at his hand, his stomach lurching in revulsion. His ears perked up when he heard the sound of running water. He got to his feet and followed the sound until he came to a storm drain. It must have been raining topside because water was pouring in through the grate. Klunk lifted his hand and used the rain water to wash the blood off of his hand.

Klunk looked up the ladder at the manhole cover above him. He had always wanted to see what was on the surface; now seemed as good a time as any to find out. He began climbing the ladder, but stopped at the cover when he heard someone call his name. Michelangelo appeared out of the darkness. He was panting for breath and looked like his legs were about to give out.

"Dude," he gasped. "Where are you going?"

"Topside," Klunk replied.

"You can't," Michelangelo said.

"Mikey-" Klunk started.

"Not without me," Michelangelo cut in with a grin.

Klunk smiled back and nodded. "Okay," he laughed.

Michelangelo climbed up the ladder as his brother pushed the cover off. They crawled through the manhole and entered an alley. Their eyes went wide as they took in their surroundings. Giant crystalline structures stretched skyward, overtaking large high rise buildings. Some buildings had been reduced to rubble; skeletons of their former glory. In the sky floated huge mechanical airships that were no doubt of alien origin.

"Where are the people?" Klunk whispered, looking around at the empty street.

"I don't know," Michelangelo whispered back. "But, this place is a lot creepier than what I had imagined."

The brothers jumped when an airship flew overhead. They shrank into the shadows, keeping out of sight. A beam of purple light streamed down from the middle of the space craft. A minute later it passed over a second time.

"What's it doing?" Michelangelo asked.

"I think it's scanning for something," Klunk replied.

"But, what?" Michelangelo wanted to know. "There's nothing to scan for. Everything is dead."

The scanning beam passed over their hiding place and the ship suddenly lit up. An alarm rang out; echoing across the empty streets. Klunk turned to glare at his brother.

"You just had to ask," he growled.

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Reviews are welcome, flames are not


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer** : see chapter one

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Klunk and Michelangelo ran through the streets as they tried to get away from the alien airship that was now shooting at them. Michelangelo yelled in surprise when one laser blast hit close to his left foot. He jumped back, but almost lost his balance. He regained his footing and continued to run. The brothers dodged behind cars and trucks and alleyways, but the ship would always find them.

"It's got our scent," Klunk realized, his heart sinking.

"I can't run much longer," Michelangelo said. "My legs are going to fall off."

Klunk looked over his shoulder at the ship, but his attention was brought to the front when he heard the sound of guns charging. He came to a screeching halt, jerking forward when Michelangelo crashed into him. The turtle grunted when he fell to the ground. Klunk gasped for breath and looked around. They were completely surrounded...by brains in robot bodies.

"Huh?" Klunk asked, his ears drooping in confusion.

Michelangelo stood up and looked around. "Whoa," he said. "Are you seeing...?"

"Yep," Klunk replied.

"I'm not just...?"

"Nope."

The group of alien robots in front of them parted and a brain in a larger robot body walked up. It looked scarred with a weird design over its right eye and a mechanized left eye.

"What do we have here?" the brain asked. "Two little mutants all alone in the big city?"

Klunk heard a strange sound come from Michelangelo and turned to see his orange masked brother faint.

"Poor thing," the brain said. "I guess all of this is too much for his little mutant brain to handle." It turned to Klunk. "You, on the other hand, seem to be taking this rather well."

Klunk looked back up at the alien brain. "Actually...Mr. Brain Thing...he just did what I'm fighting very hard _not_ to do."

"Brain Thing?" the alien brain asked. "I am Kraang Sub-Prime. And, I am very interested to know where you came from."

"A pet shop," Klunk replied, his voice squeaking.

Kraang Sub-Prime studied him. "I doubt the humans kept mutants as pets," he said.

Klunk cleared his throat. "W-well, I wasn't always a mutant. There was an accident and...well..."

Kraang Sub-Prime leaned in close, his face inches away from Klunk's. "You and your turtle friend will make excellent test subjects." He pulled away. "Kraang! Take these two to the Technodrome for further analysis."

Four normal alien robots walked up. Two pulled Michelangelo to his feet, the other two went to Klunk. The brothers were brought on board one of the airships and were forced to sit in the control room. During the ride, Michelangelo came to.

"Dude," he groaned. "I just had the weirdest dream. We were topside and the city was all crystal-y. And then there were these alien brain things in robot bodies and one of them could talk. And..."

"Yeah," Klunk said slowly. "That...wasn't a dream, bro."

He pointed upward. Michelangelo looked up and saw the four robots. The robots stared back at him. Michelangelo's eyes rolled back into his head and he went out cold for a second time. Klunk was surprised he was taking all of this very well. He knew there had been some kind of invasion, he just didn't think it was extraterrestrial.

Klunk tapped his fingers together, leaning over slightly when Michelangelo's limp body fell against his. Soon, the ship was docking inside a giant metal ball with spikes sticking out of the exterior. Klunk and Michelangelo were brought into the larger ship. After a few minutes of walking down twisting hallways that seemed to go nowhere, the brothers were finally dumped in a cell to wait for dissection. Klunk banged on the door after it was slammed shut, running his claws down the metal in anger. He was surprised he hadn't made a dent. Klunk stepped back a little bit and kicked the door. A sharp pain shot up his leg. He hopped on one foot, holding the other.

"You're not opening the door that way," came a female voice.

Klunk looked around. "Who said that?" he asked.

A pretty red-head appeared out of the shadows. She wore a white jumpsuit and white headband. Her hair was pulled back in a low ponytail. Klunk straightened, surprised by the appearance of a human. He had only seen humans on TV; this was the first time he saw one up close. It took him a while to realize that he was staring, but also that the girl was staring at him, as well.

"You're not a Kraang," the girl stated slowly.

"Obviously not," Klunk replied, his voice quivering a bit. "Uh...I'm Klunk. The turtle out cold on the floor is my brother, Michelangelo."

The girl looked between the two mutants. "Not much of a family resemblance," she commented.

"I'm adopted," Klunk blurted out.

The girl giggled, which made Klunk smile softly. The girl pushed a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

"I'm April. April O'Neil," she introduced herself.

"What's a nice girl like you doing in a place like this?" Klunk automatically asked.

April gave him a weird look. Klunk slapped his hands over his mouth, his eyes growing wide. He smiled, embarrassed.

"Sorry. I've watched too many cheesy movies," Klunk said, rubbing the back of his neck, shyly.

April chuckled. "It's okay. But, to answer your question: I've been a prisoner of the Kraang for a long time." Her eyes grew sad. "It's been so long I've forgotten what the outside looks like."

"It's not much better than in here," Klunk told her.

April leaned against the wall and crossed her arms. "So, how did _you_ come to be captured?" she asked.

Klunk looked away, ashamed. "I hurt my brother," he said quietly.

April looked at Michelangelo who was now drooling on the floor. "He seems all right, to me," she stated.

Klunk shook his head. "No, not him. My other brother, Raphael."

"How many brothers do you have?" April wanted to know.

"Four," Klunk answered. "I'm the youngest."

April's eyes widened. "Wow. And I thought I had it bad being an only child," she commented.

"Sometimes I wish I _was_ an only child," Klunk said.

"I interrupted, sorry," April apologized. "Please, continue."

Klunk rubbed his arm. "We got into a fight; me and Raph. I hurt him, bad. Though, Donnie said with a few stitches he would make a full recovery." He sighed and looked away, his eyes sad. "But, I ran. I couldn't stand seeing the look of disapproval in my father's eyes. I was heading for the surface when Mikey found me. We both came topside, but weren't up here five minutes before we were spotted by the Kraang. And that's how we ended up here."

"Bummer," April muttered.

Klunk turned to face the door again. "Now, our next problem is trying to figure out a way out of here."

"There's no way out," April told him. "The lock is controlled by retinal scans which are only programmed to the Kraang."

Klunk hummed in thought as he looked around. "Then, we'll just have to _make_ them open the door," he mumbled.

"How?" April asked.

Klunk's eyes fell on Michelangelo and a sly grin crossed his face. He looked back at April. "Do you have any food?"

* * *

Two Kraang guards were walking by the only occupied cell when they heard loud banging coming from the other side of the door. They stopped and just stared at the door.

"Help! Help! Guards! My brother's really sick! You have to help!" shouted the voice of the feline prisoner.

One of the guards stepped up to the retinal scanner and the door unlocked. Inside, they found the female and feline prisoner standing over the turtle prisoner. The turtle looked greener than he did when he was first brought in.

"What is the problem known as the problem of the one called the turtle?" one of the Kraang droids asked, picking Michelangelo up off the floor.

"I...can't..."

Klunk and April looked away as the reptile hurled over the droid. The robot began to spark and sputter. Klunk took the opening to release his hidden blades and attack the two guards. He retracted the blades again, picked his brother up and headed for the open door with April right behind him.

"This way," April instructed.

She headed down the left hallway. Trusting that she knew where she was going, Klunk followed April to the best of his abilities.

"C'mon, dude, ya gotta help me out, here," he grunted.

"Have you ever eaten alien food?" Michelangelo moaned.

"No. And, I don't want to. That's why I shoved it down _your_ throat," Klunk told him.

"You're a real pal, bro," the turtle muttered.

Michelangelo managed to get his feet underneath himself and was able to follow his brother and April. She led them down several hallways, most of which Michelangelo and Klunk had to clear of Kraang droids, before they finally entered the docking bay.

"Come on," April said, heading straight for one of the airships.

The brothers looked at each other before following after her. The brothers cleared the ship of droids and they entered the control room.

"Do you know how to fly this thing?" Michelangelo asked.

April pressed a button and the ship turned on. "Yes," she answered with a smile.

Klunk's ears drooped. "That was a total guess, wasn't it?" he asked flatly.

April gave him a sheepish look. "Totally," she confirmed.

"We're doomed," Michelangelo commented.

"I've seen the Kraang fly these things hundreds of times," April said. "How hard can it be?"

She pressed more buttons and the ship shuttered and jerked. She hit one button and the airship lifted off. However, before anyone could get too excited, it flew backwards and slammed into the wall, sending everyone to the floor.

"Apparently...a lot harder than it looks," Klunk answered her earlier question as he picked himself up off the floor.

April got to her feet and studied the controls. "Okay, just...give me a minute," she said.

"I hate to rain on your parade, Red, but we don't have a minute," Michelangelo told her, pointing at the vid screen.

Thousands of Kraang droids filed into the docking bay, weapons charged and aimed directly at their ship.

"Ahhh sewer bunnies," Klunk growled.

* * *

Reviews are welcome, flames are not


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N** : So sorry for the delay. Got hit with a sledgehammer of writer's block. *shakes fist* Curse you, RL. Anyway, here's the next chapter. Hope you enjoy it.

 **Disclaimer** : see chapter one

* * *

"If anyone has any suggestions, I'm open to ideas," April said, her stomach lurching at the sight of so many Kraang droids.

Klunk looked down at the controls. Nothing made sense. The control panel was just purple lights flashing on a black screen. He turned to his brother, who looked back with fearful blue eyes. Klunk felt a twinge of guilt. They were in this mess because of him. If he hadn't run off none of this would have happened. Klunk glanced back down at the controls. It was an airship, so it had to have a weapons system, right?

"Do what you do best, Mikey," Klunk said. "Start hitting buttons."

The brothers started pressing random buttons to try to find the right one to fire the weapons, while April tried to get the airship moving. She pressed something and the ship shot upward, crashing into the ceiling. It also caused the Kraang droids to start firing on them. Michelangelo pulled himself up off the floor, but in the process hit something which fired off a bolt of dark purple lightning. The droids scattered.

"How'd you do that?" April asked.

"I have no idea," Michelangelo replied.

Klunk noticed an orb in the middle of the control panel. It was pulsing with a dark purple light. "What does that thing do?" he asked, pointing to the orb. "And hopefully those don't become famous last words."

April placed her hands on the orb and moved it forward. The ship shuttered and jerked forward. The droids started open firing again. With some experimentation, April was able to fly the airship out of the docking bay and out into the city.

"We can't stay in this thing," Klunk said. "They'll know we've escaped."

"So, what do we do?" Michelangelo asked.

"Park in there," Klunk told April, pointing to an alley.

With some difficulty, April managed to squeeze the ship into the cramped space. The three then disembarked and made their way down into the sewers. Up above they heard droids talking, no doubt after having found the airship. Klunk hoped that they wouldn't figure out that their prisoners had escaped into the sewers. Those aliens may have been brains, but they didn't seem to be very smart when it came to Earth ways.

"Now what?" Michelangelo whispered.

Klunk motioned for his brother and April to follow him. They trekked through the sewers, each one quiet and thinking about what they had just been through. Klunk could feel his body begin to shake as the adrenaline high came crashing down. He also realized he still needed to face punishment for hurting Raphael. That made his heart hammer even more inside his chest.

Finally, they came upon the entrance to the lair. Klunk told April to wait outside while he and Michelangelo went inside and talked to their parents. April agreed and watched the brothers disappear inside the abandoned subway station. The boys didn't get very far when they were suddenly pounced upon by Shard. She grabbed her sons and held them tightly to her chest.

"Where have you two been?" she demanded. "Your father and I have been worried sick. We couldn't find you anywhere."

Klunk and Michelangelo looked at each other, both silently asking the other to explain. Shard pulled away and looked at them, her eyes quietly demanding an explanation. She frowned and leaned in, sniffing each boy.

"Where were you?" Shard asked sternly. "You stink of metal."

"We were...um..." Klunk stammered.

"Where were you?" Splinter ordered as he walked up.

Klunk's ears drooped and his tail slowly tucked between his legs. "Topside," he answered quietly.

Shard's ears twitched. "Topside?" she exclaimed.

If looks could kill, Klunk and Michelangelo were sure they would have burst into flames from the look Splinter was giving them.

"What possessed you boys to disobey a direct order?" their father demanded angrily. "You knew very well that going to the surface was forbidden."

His attention was brought to the entrance and he spotted a red-headed girl peeking inside the lair. The brothers turned to see April disappear around the corner again.

"She needed help," Klunk quickly explained. "She was a prisoner. We couldn't just leave her."

"Dojo. Now," Splinter ordered.

The brothers hurried off with Splinter right behind them. Shard went over to the turnstiles and peeked around the corner. A pretty red-headed girl was sitting on the floor.

"Hello there," Shard greeted.

The girl's head snapped upward, her eyes wide and fearful. Shard smiled warmly.

"It's all right. I'm not going to hurt you. But, the sewers are so very musty and dark. Would you like to come in and rest?"

The girl nodded and got to her feet. Shard guided her into the lair and over to the couch.

"My name is Shard," she introduced herself.

"April O'Neil," the girl replied. "I hope I didn't cause Klunk and Michelangelo any trouble."

"They're not in trouble," Shard assured her. "They just have some explaining to do after making their father and I worry about where they were."

April nodded in understanding. "Makes sense," she murmured. "I guess you don't venture above ground all that often."

Shard shook her head. "Not since our mutation have we gone above ground," she answered.

"How long has that been?" April wanted to know, curious.

"Fifteen years," Shard replied.

April couldn't help the look of surprise that washed over her face. Shard smiled.

"Yes, that is a long time to be hiding in the sewers," she agreed. "But, it was for our son's protection. It wasn't long after we were mutated that the Kraang invaded. They were looking for any source of mutagen, and we feared that the aliens would use our sons for evil means. So, when they got older, we forbade them from going topside."

"So, they are in trouble," April said. "Klunk and Michelangelo disobeyed you."

Shard put a hand on April's shoulder. "They may be in trouble for going topside, but not for helping you." She smiled. "Now, let me get you some tea."

Shard got up and headed for the kitchen. April remained on the couch, tapping her fingers against her knees. After a couple of minutes she heard movement coming from somewhere else in the lair, followed by approaching footsteps.

"Raph's in his room resting. The gash wasn't too serious. I was able to..."

April looked up to see a tall, lanky turtle with a purple mask standing a few feet from the Pit. He stared at her with wide, brown eyes. She stared back at him, not knowing what to say or do.

"Uh..." the purple masked turtle stammered. "Hi."

"Hi," April answered back.

"You're not Shard," the turtle stated dumbly.

April shook her head. "Nope. Uh...I think she went to the kitchen."

The turtle slowly nodded. "Okay," he said.

He slowly turned and headed for the kitchen. However, before he got too far, he turned around again.

"I'm Donatello, by the way," he said.

"April," April answered. "Nice to meet you, Donatello."

She could have sworn Donatello's cheeks turned a light shade of red, but it was hard to tell with his green skin. Donatello smiled awkwardly and made his exit. April smiled and tapped her fingers on her knees. She wondered how Klunk and Michelangelo were faring. No sooner had the thought passed through her mind did the brothers emerge from the dojo. April got up from the couch and went to meet them.

"I didn't get you in trouble, did I?" she asked worriedly.

Klunk shook his head. "No. It's not you. We've just been sentenced to two months of extra training for going topside. Plus, one more month of extra training for me on top of that for hurting Raph."

"That doesn't seem so bad," April commented.

"Then you don't know sensei," Michelangelo whispered.

"Shh," Klunk hissed. "Not too loud, lest he hear you."

"Did he say anything about me being here?" April asked.

Michelangelo smiled. "You've got nothing to worry about, April. Sensei said that you're welcome to stay here as long as you want," he explained.

"That's good. But, I don't want to intrude on your family," April said.

"No intrusions," Klunk assured her. He looked behind April and saw Donatello peeking around the corner of the kitchen door. He smirked. "Besides, I think a certain purple masked brother of ours would be disappointed if we turned you away," Klunk added.

April glanced over her shoulder just in time to see Donatello disappear back into the kitchen. She couldn't help but smile. Michelangelo suddenly grabbed her hand and pulled her back towards the Pit, picking up two controllers and giving one to April; explaining how to play the video game he was turning on. Klunk sat down on the couch and watched his brother and new friend battle each other in the racing game.

* * *

Lightning split the sky in two as thunder roared over the city. The Kraang retreated back to the Technodrome, fearing what a lightning strike would do to their ships. From the darkness of an apartment window, a figure emerged. Tall, thin, with black hair and dark eyes; the young teenage boy glared out the window at the aliens. It was only by extreme luck that he hadn't been caught yet. He was the only one left of his family. His father and little sister had been taken by the alien scum a year ago. Heaven only knew what was being done to them.

The boy looked up at the sky as lightning once again cracked across the dark storm clouds. He frowned slightly. There was something off about the lightning. He jerked away from the window as a bolt of lightning struck the rooftop across from his apartment building. He re-emerged, only to see something manifest from the energy of the blast. A strange, sparking substance that moved more like water than electricity. The floating blob seemed to look around before moving off. The boy stepped away from the window and back into the safety of the dark apartment.

Casey Jones lived to fight for another day.

* * *

Reviews are welcome, flames are not


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